More than 1.5 million of the American women alive today have been or will be diagnosed with premature ovarian failure (POF) during their lifetimes and an unknown, probably much larger number will have early menopause without meeting the diagnostic criteria for POF. POF is characterized by accelerated depletion of ovarian follicles and decreased oocyte quality, but the causes remain unknown in 90% of cases. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed by the incomplete combustion of organic materials. Women are ubiquitously exposed to benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and other PAHs via food, air pollution, and tobacco smoke. BaP is a potent ovotoxicant, and the developing ovary is particularly sensitive. Exposure to tobacco smoke, which contains high concentrations of BaP and other PAHs, is associated with decreased fecundity and earlier menopause in the daughters of women who smoked during pregnancy. We have shown that prenatal exposure of mice to BaP during primordial germ cell migration through the onset of meiosis causes POF in the F1 female offspring at doses that do not affect ovarian follicle numbers in the mothers. We further showed that embryos deficient in synthesis of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) due to deficiency in the modifier subunit of glutamate cysteine ligase (Gclm) are more sensitive to the transplacental ovotoxicity of BaP than wild type littermates. Our preliminary data further show that BaP induces apoptosis in germ cells of cultured fetal ovaries and that Gclm null ovaries are more sensitive to the induction of germ cell apoptosis by BaP. In the current proposal we will test the hypothesis that BaP depletes germ cells in the prenatal ovary by inducing oxidative stress and apoptosis, while inducing heritable epigenetic changes in surviving germ cells to cause accelerated depletion of ovarian follicles in subsequent generations, and that GSH is protective against these effects. We will test this hypothesis in two aims: 1) To establish the critical window of development for and mechanisms of the transplacental ovotoxicity of BaP and to define the mechanism by which GSH modulates BaP-induced ovotoxicity during the critical window. We will use complementary in vivo transplacental exposure and cultured embryonic ovary models. We will test the potential protective effects of supplementation with GSH and other antioxidants. 2) Test whether the ovarian phenotype of prenatal exposure to BaP is transgenerational and is mediated by epigenetic changes in the germ line. We will utilize RNA- sequencing to examine genomewide gene expression and will assess global DNA methylation using MBD- Sequencing in F1, F2, and F3 primordial germ cells from BaP exposed compared to control lineages.

Public Health Relevance

Early menopause due to early cessation of ovarian function affects more than one percent of all women, but the causes are largely unknown. The project will uncover the mechanisms by which prenatal exposure to the widespread pollutants PAHs causes premature ovarian failure in daughters, as well as potentially in granddaughters and great-granddaughters of exposed females. The project will determine the most sensitive time during prenatal development for these effects and how deficiency in the antioxidant glutathione increases sensitivity during these sensitive windows, paving the way for prevention of adverse ovarian effects of PAHs.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01ES020454-08
Application #
9751860
Study Section
Integrative and Clinical Endocrinology and Reproduction Study Section (ICER)
Program Officer
Schug, Thaddeus
Project Start
2012-01-10
Project End
2022-07-31
Budget Start
2019-08-01
Budget End
2020-07-31
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2019
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Irvine
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
046705849
City
Irvine
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92617
Lim, Jinhwan; Luderer, Ulrike (2018) Glutathione deficiency sensitizes cultured embryonic mouse ovaries to benzo[a]pyrene-induced germ cell apoptosis. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 352:38-45
Mishra, Birendra; Lawson, Gregory W; Ripperdan, Ryan et al. (2018) Charged-Iron-Particles Found in Galactic Cosmic Rays are Potent Inducers of Epithelial Ovarian Tumors. Radiat Res 190:142-150
Luderer, Ulrike; Christensen, Fletcher; Johnson, Wesley O et al. (2017) Associations between urinary biomarkers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure and reproductive function during menstrual cycles in women. Environ Int 100:110-120
Luderer, Ulrike; Myers, Meagan B; Banda, Malathi et al. (2017) Ovarian effects of prenatal exposure to benzo[a]pyrene: Roles of embryonic and maternal glutathione status. Reprod Toxicol 69:187-195
Cinco, Rachel; Digman, Michelle A; Gratton, Enrico et al. (2016) Spatial Characterization of Bioenergetics and Metabolism of Primordial to Preovulatory Follicles in Whole Ex Vivo Murine Ovary. Biol Reprod 95:129
Lim, Jinhwan; Kong, Weixi; Lu, Muzi et al. (2016) The Mouse Fetal Ovary Has Greater Sensitivity Than the Fetal Testis to Benzo[a]pyrene-Induced Germ Cell Death. Toxicol Sci 152:372-81
Lim, Jinhwan; Ortiz, Laura; Nakamura, Brooke N et al. (2015) Effects of deletion of the transcription factor Nrf2 and benzo [a]pyrene treatment on ovarian follicles and ovarian surface epithelial cells in mice. Reprod Toxicol 58:24-32
Lim, Jinhwan; Nakamura, Brooke N; Mohar, Isaac et al. (2015) Glutamate Cysteine Ligase Modifier Subunit (Gclm) Null Mice Have Increased Ovarian Oxidative Stress and Accelerated Age-Related Ovarian Failure. Endocrinology 156:3329-43
Luderer, Ulrike (2014) Ovarian toxicity from reactive oxygen species. Vitam Horm 94:99-127
Ortiz, Laura; Nakamura, Brooke; Li, Xia et al. (2013) In utero exposure to benzo[a]pyrene increases adiposity and causes hepatic steatosis in female mice, and glutathione deficiency is protective. Toxicol Lett 223:260-7

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